The 9:01 is a coffee-fueled weekday column on all things Memphis

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August 23, 2016 - Bishop Martin D. Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., delivers a speech after being named Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis at the Catholic Center on Tuesday. Holley succeeds Bishop Terry Steib and becomes the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)(Photo: The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Story Highlights

The New York Times visits Memphis as it profiles the U.S. Senate race.

Blackburn, Bredesen respond to a question about federal protection for pregnant workers.

"Dr. Death" has a Memphis connection, unfortunately.

The Fadeout(s): Ballet Memphis rolls out three teasers for its fall mix program.

Talking to local Catholics, the move seems more financial than political, though.

There's a strong case against the firing being a political power play by the Vatican. First off, Francis appointed Holley just two years ago, presumably after vetting him. And since his appointment, Holley hasn't exactly carried the standard for Catholic trads publicly.

However, his traditionalist views probably didn't help him, either. Neither did his association with the D.C. diocese.

The more likely option is that Holley mismanaged the diocese, which was already struggling financially following the recession. He was reportedly gone often. His lack of communication raised complaints and lowered donations. He leaned heavily on Machado in making many of the day-to-day decisions about the diocese, to the disappointment of traditional and nontraditional Catholics alike. The recent Apostolic Visit to investigate complaints against his management didn't go well, obviously.

Would those issues — even combined — lead to his downfall? It seems there's more to the story that has yet to surface. But even if there are political undercurrents to the decision, reducing Holley's forced resignation to a political power play is a stretch.

The Times profiles Senate race, visits Memphis

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Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen speaks at Rhodes College's McNeil Hall on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Bredesen took the stage alone after his opponent in the Senate race, Marsha Blackburn, pulled out of a debate. (Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

He exactly pinpoints the significance of the race at this moment in time:

In this year of liberal resistance, when Democratic passions are running high and Senate candidates like Beto O’Rourke of Texas are attempting to harness that energy, Mr. Bredesen is doing just the opposite. He is hoping to lower temperatures, blur the lines between himself and Republicans, and run on local issues against Representative Marsha Blackburn in a state that Mr. Trump carried by 26 points.

It is a throwback campaign, the sort that Southern Democrats used for years to distinguish themselves from their national party, in a region that has moved decisively away from its political roots. But as Democrats eye winning back some of the South’s fast-growing states, Mr. Bredesen’s approach also represents a well-timed political science test of which strategy is more effective: his brand of political vanilla that reflects the history of the state, or the more unrepentant, and perhaps more inspiring, brand of liberalism on offer from Mr. O’Rourke.

As part of his reporting, Martin visited Memphis — and gave our barbecue scene a shout-out:

The article was full of nuggets. Bredesen went after former president Obama for being too "elitist," for example. That won't sit well with Democrats, especially after Bredesen endorsed the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh despite the sexual misconduct allegations that surfaced during the confirmation hearings. Oh, and along those lines, Bredesen said Democrats will vote for him no matter what:

Mr. Bredesen, who still speaks with the bluntness of the boardroom he led at HealthAmerica Corporation before he became Nashville’s mayor, said revulsion toward Mr. Trump among Democrats had given him a wide berth.

“I’m in the fortunate position that people on the left are enraged enough that they will find almost anything I do, with the D after my name, acceptable,” he said.

That's true for some Democrats — but not all. Maybe fewer now. The article quotes Rep. Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat currently running for the state senate:

“You can get on your political high horse but the consequences are pretty severe,” Ms. Akbari said, invoking the cost of purity in the 2016 election.

Unrelated to The Times article, I promised earlier this week that I would give statements from Bredesen and Blackburn, when I got them, about another Times article, this one about pregnancy discrimination at the Memphis warehouse run by XPO Logistics.

Asked whether they think current federal protections for working pregnant women are sufficient, the candidates' spokeswomen gave these statements:

Alyssa Hansen for Bredesen: "There is clearly more that needs to be done to ensure expectant mothers have safe and healthy working conditions and Governor Bredesen looks forward to working in the Senate to continue tackling these important issues like he did as Governor taking steps to lower the infant mortality rate in Memphis."

Abbi Sigler for Blackburn: “Marsha Blackburn is a mother and a grandmother, who knows the difficulty balancing both working and rearing a family. Issues like this one are very close to her heart. In fact, before Steve Cohen told her to jump off a bridge and referred to her as ‘the waterboy,’ they worked closely together to decrease the infant mortality rate in our state. In the Senate, she will continue standing up for working mothers.”

The Memphis connection to 'Dr. Death'

Duntsch is currently serving a life sentence for multiple counts of aggravated assault for killing and maiming patients during surgeries in Dallas — a "first of its kind" case of malicious intent during surgery, according to the podcast. The Memphis connection: Duntsch was raised in Memphis and is a product of Evangelical Christian School, the University of Memphis, and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. (The UTHSC isn't commenting, by the way. "Dr. Death who? We, um, never heard of him.")

“I think what happened is that as things began to fall apart, the only thing he knew was to try harder,” Don Duntsch said.

His younger brother, Nathan, said he had spoken to Duntsch’s friend and former employee, Jerry Summers, who was left a quadriplegic after one of the botched surgeries. He said that Summers had broken down in to “uncontrolled crying and said, ‘I know your brother would never do this to me on purpose.’”

It's an engrossing listen, if you get a chance:

Happening today

11 a.m.: The Memphis branch of the NAACP and the Tennessee Black Voter Projects will appear before Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins today to argue that the Shelby County Election Commission isn't doing enough to process voter registration applications. The Daily Memphian has a good rundown of the requests and what's at stake here.

Recommended reading

TBI resolution progresses: A Shelby County Commission committee voted yesterday to back a resolution seeking increased involvement by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in officer-involved shootings, Jamie Munks reports.